1. Field
The described technology relates generally to a battery module.
2. Description of Related Art
A rechargeable battery can be discharged and recharged unlike a primary battery which is not rechargeable. The rechargeable battery can repeatedly perform a charge process of transforming external electrical energy into chemical energy and storing the chemical energy and a discharge process of transforming the chemical energy into electrical energy.
A typical example of a rechargeable battery may include a nickel hydrogen battery, a nickel cadmium battery, a lithium ion battery, a lithium polymer battery and so on. A rechargeable battery of a low capacity is widely used in small portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones, laptop computers, and camcorders. A high capacity rechargeable battery is often used to power a motor, such as for hybrid vehicles, a battery for storing electric power, and the like.
A high-power rechargeable battery using a non-aqueous electrolyte of a high energy density has recently been developed. The high-power rechargeable batteries may be coupled in series to form a high capacity battery module which may be used in devices requiring high power, such as electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles.
In order to electrically connect the plurality of rechargeable batteries as described above, bus bars are used to connect electrode terminals to the respective rechargeable batteries. In general, the electrode terminal externally protrudes from the rechargeable battery. The electrode terminals are connected in series in such a way as to connect the positive terminal of one rechargeable battery to the negative terminal of the other rechargeable battery adjacent to the one rechargeable battery.
However, occasionally during the assembly process of the battery module the rechargeable batteries are erroneously arranged and thus miss-insertion is generated, resulting in abnormalities, such as undesired high power. Furthermore, in case where the electrode terminal of each rechargeable battery is checked in the assembly process of the electrode module in order to eliminate such failure, there are problems in that the process time becomes long and productivity is deteriorated.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the described technology and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.